March 28, 2024
Columns

With missile over Japan, North Korea reminds US that it’s not going anywhere

Pyongyang wants sanctions relief and will continue to ramp up pressure through tests until Washington relents

They did it again. After a five-year break, North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean, some 2,800 miles (4,500 km) away. Japanese authorities even sounded evacuation warnings in some areas of the country.

Experts initially assessed that North Koreans had likely tested a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). But after DPRK state media released photos of the test on Monday, it appears Pyongyang actually tested a new missile.

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